Yamansu

A three hour drive through the desert  from Hami took us to Yamansu today, a curious place which feels like a step back in time. The name itself means bitter water and it’s not hard to understand why – there is no piped water supply to Yamansu and water costs ten times the price that it does elsewhere.

The town is dominated by a monument left over from the cultural revolution but the real heart of Yamansu is the iron ore mine that the place serves. It was a strange day overall, mostly spent photographing a single locomotive shunting in the yard, but interesting nevertheless.

The road from Hami across the desert

House in Yamansu

Monument from the Cultural Revolution at Yamansu

A locomotive at the mine in Yamansu

Yamansu Desert

Yamansu Desert

On most days our guide has selected dishes from restaurant menus that would appeal to a Western palate but here we were taken by surprise by the generosity of our hosts. A special lunch had been laid on with various delicacies (tripe, claws, prawns) that we could hardly do justice to. Rarely have I felt quite so guilty about not feasting on such a spread!

More photos from Yamansu